Once Cold

by Blake Pierce

  Riley thought for a moment, then added, “And you can say other things too.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’ll let you figure it out for yourself. Do you think you can do it?”

  “I’ll try.”

  Riley hoped that Jilly meant it.

  She said, “Anyway, a punk like Mark isn’t worth getting kicked out of school over. And for what it’s worth, Mr. Morlan gave me the distinct impression that Mark is going to be in a lot worse trouble than you are.”

  Now Riley could hear a smile in Jilly’s voice.

  “Really?” she said.

  “Really.”

  Riley and Jilly didn’t say much during the rest of the ride home. But Riley, at least, felt a whole lot better.

  Maybe I’m doing some things right after all, she thought.

  *

  When Riley woke up the next morning, she quickly noticed an envelope that had been slipped under the door. She knew right away that it was Jilly’s note to Mark. Jilly must have put it there late last night for Riley’s approval.

  Riley opened up the note and read …

  Hi Mark—

  I’m sorry I hit you. It was the wrong thing to do. Violence is never good, and I know that now, and I won’t do anything like that again. I hope your nose feels better.

  But I hope you understand that you hurt people too. The way you mistreat girls hurts them badly. And it hurts me to see you act that way. It makes me angry, but more than that, it makes me sad. Please stop.

  Sincerely,

  Jilly

  Riley smiled. She got dressed and went downstairs, where Gabriela and the girls were already eating breakfast. She handed the note back to Jilly and kissed her on the cheek.

  “This is perfect,” she said. “I’m proud of you.”

  A smile exploded across Jilly’s face. But then she looked a little worried.

  “Are you sure Mr. Morlan will think it’s OK?” Jilly asked.

  “If he doesn’t, he’ll definitely hear from me,” Riley said.

  Jilly’s smile came back in full force.

  Riley sat down and ate breakfast with her family.

  *

  A little while later, Riley was relieved to be finally driving to the BAU to go back to work with Bill. She had delivered both Jilly and her note to school, and hoped that would settle at least one issue in her life.

  She felt eager to get back to work. There was plenty to do today, such as talking to the cop in Greybull who had worked the case years ago. She and Bill also needed to visit the bars where the victims had last been seen alive.

  When Riley pulled onto the interstate, her cell phone rang. She put the call on speakerphone.

  “Hi, Riley. This is Shirley Redding, your real estate agent.”

  Riley was happy to hear from her. She hadn’t had time to check in with her yesterday as she’d hoped.

  “Hi, Shirley. What’s going on?”

  “Great news! It turns out that the property is prime hunting land. I’ve got more than one potential buyer on the hook. The best offer is close to two hundred thousand dollars.”

  “Wow!” Riley said. “Should we take it or hold off for more?”

  “That’s up to you,” Shirley said. “But I’ve got a hunch that’s as high as we’ll get.”

  Riley knew better than to hesitate.

  “Then let’s accept it.”

  “Great! I’ll get right back to the buyer!”

  Riley felt a warm rush of happiness as she ended the call.

  Two hundred thousand dollars!

  It was going to be wonderful security, knowing that she had that kind of money for the girls’ college years.

  Riley had started to hum a happy tune when the phone rang again.

  She answered, figuring that Shirley was calling back about some kind of detail.

  Instead, she heard a man’s voice.

  “Don’t accept that offer.”

  Riley shuddered so hard that she almost lost control of her car.

  She knew that voice all too well.

  It was possibly the last person in the world she wanted to hear from right now.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  As Riley struggled to control her car, the voice on the phone repeated, “Don’t accept that offer.”

  There was no doubt in Riley’s mind.

  The caller was Shane Hatcher.

  The criminal genius had come to Riley’s aid on more than one case—but always at a terrible cost, both personal and professional.

  “Do you hear me?” Hatcher asked.

  “I hear you. Don’t accept the offer or what?”

  “Or—you’ll miss a great opportunity.”

  Then came a sinister chuckle.

  He said, “Maybe you’d better get off the highway before we discuss it. You’ll be safer that way.”

  Riley groaned aloud. Hatcher was right. She was badly shaken and driving erratically.

  Hatcher’s knowledge of her every move, of the most intimate details of her life, often seemed uncanny.

  Riley swerved onto an exit ramp that led her to a side street. She pulled over to the curb and stopped her car.

  “Why should I talk to you?” Riley asked.

  “Because you’re still wearing my bracelet.”

  Riley’s flesh crawled as she felt the weight of the gold bracelet on her wrist. Hatcher had given it to her back in January as a symbol of what he called their “bond.” The bracelet was also engraved with a number she had used for contacting him.

  Every day, she tried to tell herself not to wear it.

  But Hatcher’s hold on her was too strong.

  “You just got an offer on your father’s cabin,” Hatcher said. “For a whole lot of money. Don’t accept it. Don’t sell it.”

  Riley’s mind boggled.

  Did he know that she’d just gotten off the phone with Shirley?

  Was he tapping her phone?

  “Why shouldn’t I sell it?” she asked.

  “Because I want it. I like it there. It agrees with me. I’d like to spend some time there.” Then with another laugh he added, “With your permission, of course.”

  Riley remembered the last time she’d seen Hatcher. She’d gone to the cabin shortly after her father’s death. Hatcher had tracked her down there, and their encounter had been as disturbing as usual. The last image she had of him was walking away from the cabin, his back turned toward her.

  Why didn’t I shoot him when I had the chance? Riley wondered.

  But now was no time to second-guess herself.

  She had to figure out what Hatcher was driving at here and now.

  Riley knew that Hatcher had both money and criminal connections. He’d flaunted his power and wealth ever since his escape from Sing Sing.

  Riley said, “If you want the cabin so bad, why don’t you just buy it yourself?”

  Hatcher didn’t reply. He simply let out a long, rumbling chuckle.

  Then Riley understood.

  The “buyer” who had offered Shirley $200,000 had been Shane himself.

  He’d been using a fake identity, surely.

  But if he wanted it so much, why hadn’t he bought it?

  It would be tricky, of course. After all, he ranked high on the FBI’s most wanted list. But Riley knew that Hatcher wouldn’t have let a little problem like that get in his way. If he really wanted to buy the property, he’d figure out a way to handle the transaction.

  But he didn’t want to buy it.

  That would be too simple, Riley realized.

  He found it much more interesting for Riley to keep on owning it.

  He loved playing mind games with her.

  “I’m not asking for the title,” Hatcher said. “I’m just asking you to look the other way while I live there.”

  Riley didn’t reply. She was still struggling to understand what this was really all about.

  Hatcher said, “I know you’ve got reasons to want to sell it. The money would be a gr
eat help, with two girls on their way to college. You want them to have a good education. But they’re getting that already, living with you. By the way, I admire that little Jilly. She’s got some spunk, taking down a school bully like that. She really takes after her mom.”

  Riley’s stomach sank. He even knew about Jilly’s altercation!

  He added, “You won’t need to worry about college funds. Trust me, that won’t be a problem, not in the long run.”

  Riley’s head reeled with confusion. Was he seriously promising to put her kids through college?

  If so, how could she possibly accept that kind of help?

  Worse yet, how could she turn it down?

  She’d never known Hatcher to take no for an answer.

  She sat there staring at the phone.

  She didn’t dare ask the obvious question—why should she agree not to sell the cabin?

  The answer might be too horrible to imagine. Might he put the kids in danger? Perhaps he had them in his clutches already.

  But no, that wouldn’t be his style.

  He’d actually saved April’s life once—and Ryan’s life as well.

  Finally Hatcher said, “I can make it worth your while.”

  “How?”

  “Like I always do. Give you information.”

  Riley almost scoffed aloud. Had he overplayed his hand for once?

  “You haven’t got any information I need,” she said. “I’m working on a cold case. I’m in no hurry. I’ve got plenty of time. I can solve it on my own.”

  A chilling silence fell.

  “There’s another cold case you haven’t solved,” Hatcher finally said. “You’ve got no hope of solving it—without my help.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Riley said.

  “I’m talking about something that’s been on your mind most of your life.”

  Riley gasped. She didn’t want to ask. But he said nothing more until she whispered, “What?”

  “Your mother’s death. I can give you her killer.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Riley felt her whole body shake with shock at Hatcher’s words.

  She closed her eyes, trying to pull herself together.

  For a moment, memories came flooding back …

  She was right there all over again, a little girl in a candy store with Mommy, when a bad man with a stocking over his head and a gun walked toward them, and the bad man said to Mommy, “Give me your money,” but Mommy was too scared to move, and then …

  “Did you hear me?” Hatcher asked.

  Her eyes snapped open again.

  “I heard you,” she said.

  “Is it a deal?”

  Riley’s throat was so tight with anxiety that she could barely speak.

  “I don’t believe you,” she managed to say.

  Hatcher let out a peal of laughter.

  “Oh, you believe me. Why wouldn’t you believe me? Haven’t I always been true to my word? Haven’t I always come through for you?”

  Although Riley couldn’t bring herself to say so, it was true. Hatcher had never let her down, not during the whole time she’d known him.

  And now she felt an abyss opening up beneath her feet.

  It was an abyss of hope—hope that she’d denied to herself all her life. Suddenly that abyss was real and gaping.

  She’d spent years telling herself that she could never find justice for her mother.

  But now she could do it at long last. She could find her mother’s killer and bring him to justice …

  … or make and choose her own justice, terrible though it might be.

  Riley tingled all over. Deep inside, she was at war with herself.

  What about April and Jilly?

  What about their college money?

  She remembered what Hatcher had said just now.

  “You won’t need to worry about college funds. Trust me, that won’t be a problem, not in the long run.”

  It was true.

  Hatcher was going to be their benefactor—if she made the right choice now. Of course, that could also depend on his remaining free and wealthy.

  And what would be the cost to Riley?

  Favors from Hatcher always came at a price. Ever since she’d known him, he’d never been content with anything less than part of her soul.

  She felt like she’d been losing her soul to him little by little, piece by piece. Was she now going to hand over the largest piece of her soul yet?

  And how much soul would she have left?

  How long before her soul was gone?

  The temptation was terrible—and irresistible.

  “Yes,” she said in a choked voice.

  “Yes what?”

  “You’ve got a deal.”

  Silence followed. Was he still on the line?

  “Tell me now,” she said. “Tell me what you know. Tell me how I can find him.”

  “Not so fast. You know what you’ve got to do next. And you’ve got to do it right now. Right this minute.”

  Riley heard a click.

  The phone call had ended.

  Riley was shaking almost uncontrollably. Tears were pouring down her face. Were they tears of frustration at Hatcher’s viselike hold on her, or tears of pain from the memory of her mother’s death? It all seemed to be hopelessly mixed together.

  But she’d made her choice, and now she had to follow through on it.

  It’s now or never, she thought.

  She dialed up her Realtor’s number. When she got Shirley on the line, she had trouble breathing.

  “Shirley, I’ve thought it over. I’ve decided to turn down that offer.”

  “What?” Shirley asked.

  Riley gulped hard, then forced a cheerful tone.

  “I can’t explain it, Shirley. I know it sounds ridiculous. But when it finally came to giving it up, I somehow just couldn’t. I guess I want to keep the place after all, at least for now. Maybe I’ll sell it later.”

  Shirley sounded both shocked and angry.

  “Riley, you’re crazy to let this go. We might never get this kind of offer again. The market is unpredictable. Especially if interest rates go up.”

  “I understand. But I’ve changed my mind. I want to take it off the market.”

  Shirley was sputtering now.

  “I—I don’t get it. When we first talked, you were so emphatic. You said you really didn’t want the place, and you had bad memories of it. You said you could use the money to send your girls to college. I took you at your word. I worked hard to make this deal happen.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “I just don’t understand what could have changed your mind in just a few minutes.”

  Riley knew that she simply couldn’t give a reasonable explanation.

  There was no point in even trying.

  “It just happened, Shirley. I realized I couldn’t sell it. So turn down the offer. Right now. And take it off the market.”

  “But—”

  “That’s my final word.”

  They ended the call. Riley sat in the car mulling over what was going to happen next. If Riley’s hunch had been right and the “buyer” had actually been Hatcher, Shirley would be calling him right now to tell him of Riley’s decision.

  Then what would Hatcher do?

  She’d find out soon enough.

  She looked at her watch and saw that it was almost time to meet Bill at the BAU. She started the car and got back on the interstate.

  *

  When Riley parked in the BAU parking lot, she noticed that she’d received a text message during the drive. It was marked from an “unknown sender”—but of course, Riley knew who had really sent it.

  She picked up her phone and saw that the message was very short:

  Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

  She recognized the words at once. It was a line from Romeo and Juliet. It followed Juliet’s melancholy outcry, “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo
?”

  She’d read the play in high school and had seen movies of it, so she remembered the scene clearly. Juliet was standing on her bedroom balcony one night, sighing over her newly awakened infatuation for a kid named Montague. The trouble was, Juliet was a Capulet, and the Montagues were her family’s sworn enemies. That was why she wanted Romeo to “deny” his father and “refuse” his name.

  But what did this have to do with Riley—much less her mother’s death?

  Riley groaned aloud.

  She should have known that Hatcher wasn’t going to offer any clear and simple information. As usual, he was going to speak in riddles.

  But what did this riddle mean? His cryptic messages always meant something, no matter how silly they seemed.

  She said the line aloud.

  “Deny thy father and refuse thy name.”

  One thing seemed obvious. Hatcher was referring to Riley’s own father, and her troubled relationship with him. Also, the line seemed to be some kind of instruction or order.

  But how was she supposed to comply?

  Her father was dead. How could she “deny” him or “refuse” his name?

  Perhaps she was doing that right now—by turning the cabin over to Hatcher.

  But what did that have to do with her mother’s death?

  Again, Riley felt the weight of the bracelet on her wrist. She looked at it and saw the tiny inscription on one of its links:

  “face8ecaf”

  It, too, had been a riddle, and it meant “face to face.”

  It had been Hatcher’s way of telling her that he was her mirror—a mirror that showed her the darkest parts of herself.

  But the inscription was more than that. It was a video address, a means of getting in touch with Hatcher.

  Should she do that now? Should she ask him what his message meant?

  Riley’s heart sank.

  Of course he wouldn’t tell her.

  And besides, maybe this time the message meant nothing at all.

  Maybe Hatcher was only teasing her.

  Sooner or later, surely he’d give her a real clue of some sort.

  Meanwhile, how much teasing was she going to have to endure?

  She had no choice but to put it out of her mind for the time being. Bill was expecting her, and they needed to get back to work.